Wilderness camp: 3 days with hiking, glacier walk and kayaking

If you have three days to spend on a real Svalbard experience, we recommend that you join us on our Wilderness Camp in Ymerbukta. This is our most popular tour in the summertime, and it is suitable for almost everybody. We start the tour with boat transport to Ymerbukta on the northern side of Isfjorden. We will kayak to the grand glacier front the first day and spend the next day glacier hiking on Esmark Glacier. We will end the camp with a short hike in the surrounding areas. After a delicious dinner in our mess tent, we will enjoy the evening and the bright arctic night by the bonfire on the beach with a magnificent view over a vast landscape. We will go to sleep in our tents lulled by the sound of the calving glacier and the waves washing up on the beach, while the neighbour tent is keeping a keen eye for polar bears. Some of us have to stay awake during the night to protect the group from polar bear attacks. We will stop by the Russian community Barentsburg on our way back to Longyearbyen. This trip is scheduled for Friday to Sunday in July and August.

Day 1 (Friday):

After breakfast, at 7:30 am, you will be picked up by the guide at your choice of accommodation. After a short briefing, we will pack the personal safety equipment to bring along on the trip. The guide will take us to the harbour where the boat awaits, and we will head for Ymerbukta, where we will be set ashore at our camp by zodiacs. We settle in the camp and get ready for a kayaking trip. Dressed in dry suits and life vests, we will take place in our steady double kayaks and prepare for a trip along the shoreline to the Esmark Glacier front. Before start, the guide will teach us kayaking techniques and provide supervision. The kayak is the perfect vessel when our goal is to get really close to nature and experience the silence while looking for seals and sea birds. We will find a suitable spot to go ashore to have our lunch while enjoying the view of the glacier front. Back in camp after an active day, we will prepare our dinner, and if weather permits we will round off the day around the bonfire.

Day 2 (Saturday):

After a sound breakfast, we will pack the glacier equipment and head for the Esmark Glacier with its impressive front. Wearing crampons, harness, and ropes, we will hike onto the glacier. With supervision from the guide, we will hike on clear blue ice, over deep crevasses and snow bridges while linked together by rope. We will have our lunch on the glacier with a beautiful view over the mighty glacier formations and the inlet ahead. Back at the Camp, we will prepare our dinner while we let the impressions sink in. This is a relatively long day during which we will spend approximately 8 hours on the glacier. The hike from the camp to the glacier will last 40 minutes in easy terrain.

Day 3 (Sunday):

We will clear the camp and then take a hike in the surrounding areas before the boat picks us up to take us back to Longyearbyen via the Russian community Barentsburg. We will enjoy a hot lunch on board, and get a guided tour of Barentsburg. When time enough we can visit the museum before the boat sails back to Longyearbyen after an hour and a half in Barentsburg. Estimated arrival in Longyearbyen is 8 pm.

Detaljer

Included in price: Transport to/from your accommodation, food, tent, sleeping mat, experienced guide with necessary safety equipment. The price does not include sleeping bag but it can be rented for NOK 500,-

General information: Be aware that the length per day, the trip and activities may change due to weather conditions and the composition of the group.

Demands of participants: No glacier or kayak experience necessary, as our guide will teach and supervise you. The tour is medium demanding. The hikes take place on a rugged floor with a lot of sand and rock, and it is therefore necessary to wear good, sturdy hiking boots. It is expected that the participants take part in the daily chores in camp, such as cooking and doing dishes.